


Stroke of Misfortune

by MandalorianDragonTrainer



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: 3 years after weirdmageddon, And Hopefully Fun Too, But mostly angst, Gen, Get Ready For Protective Brother Dipper, Older Pines Twins, POV Dipper Pines, and lots of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 14:46:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17582867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MandalorianDragonTrainer/pseuds/MandalorianDragonTrainer
Summary: Dipper Pines is returning to Gravity Falls after a summer-long internship, just in time for his and Mabel's 16th birthday... and Grunkle Stan and Ford's homecoming. But when tragedy befalls what should have been a joyful reunion when Stan suffers a massive stroke, leaving Mabel willing to do anything to save him. His family's fate in the balance, Dipper must face an old enemy to save his uncle's life... and his sister's soul.





	Stroke of Misfortune

**Author's Note:**

> Hallo! Wow, less than 24 hours after finally finishing the series and I'm onto my first fic? Fandoms strike hard and fast. I'm still writing my Marvel fic "The Vanished," so I'll alternate between up it and this one. Hope there are still folks out there reading Gravity Falls fics in 2019!

Three weeks of summer vacation.

 

According to my sister, such a preposterously short break from the tedium of high school ranks among the seven deadly sins in its despicability. But even she had to agree that an internship through Stanford University was too great an opportunity for me to turn down. Now, after spending my June and July decked out in a lab coat and safety goggles, I was trading them in for a baseball cap and hiking boots.  

 

I’m Mason Pines, but no one’s called me that since before I could walk, except my mom when I’m in serious trouble. My dad started calling me “Dipper” when I was a baby, thanks to the rather obtrusive birthmark on my forehead resembling the titular constellation (now thankfully hidden beneath my hair), and it stuck ever since. A few years back, my twin sister Mabel and I spent the summer with our Great-Uncle Stan at his dilapidated tourist trap in a backwater town called Gravity Falls, Oregon.

 

Life hasn’t been the same since.

 

I leafed through my well-loved copy of _Treasure Island_ as I leaned back, stretching my feet underneath the seat in front of me. It seemed just like yesterday that my legs barely reached the bus floor. I smirked when I thought of the look on Stan’s face when I looked him directly in the eyes (okay… the chin. But I’m getting there). Now that my internship was complete, I was on my way to Gravity Falls to join Mabel for the remainder of August, just in time for our Sweet 16 in three weeks. And the icing on the cake? Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford were coming home from their three-year round-the-world voyage that night. A mini summer vacation in my favorite place on planet Earth, with my favorite people in the multiverse.

 

“We’re arriving in Gravity Falls, all passengers please gather your belongings,” the driver droned over the crackly intercom system, despite my being the only person on the bus. I stuffed my book into my duffel and flung on my backpack, leaping to my feet the instant the bus rolled to a stop.

 

“Thank you, sir!” I called to the driver, aching for scent of the clean Oregon air. No sooner had my shoes touched the earth, than I heard a familiar shrill of joy.

 

_“Dipperrrrrrrrrr!!!”_

A streak of pink collided with me, and I found myself laid out on my back on the hard-packed dirt.

_“Dipper, Dipper, oh my gosh you’re finally here!!! Now everything is_ finally _perfect!”_

“Good-good to see you, too,” I choked, attempting to pry my sister’s arms from around my neck. No use. I surrendered and returned her hug, a smile spreading across my face. I’d missed her just as much as she missed me. And she was right.

 

With the Mystery Twins back together, everything _was_ perfect.

 

Or… so it seemed.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Fear not, this is just the introduction. The other chapters will be of a decent length.


End file.
